Community complains after sex offender uses public pool in Portsmouth

The city of Portsmouth's public pool is just across the parking lot from the high school. (WGME)

PORTSMOUTH (WGME) -- Community members are complaining about a registered sex offender using a public pool, but Portsmouth officials say there's nothing they can do.

The city of Portsmouth's public pool is just across the parking lot from the high school.

CBS 13 spoke with the city attorney over the phone Wednesday afternoon and he says community members did come to him regarding a sex offender using this pool.

We spoke with parents as they brought their children to swim practice.

They didn't want to be on camera, but off-camera, one woman says they think this is horrible and that they should be notified of this somehow.

Another woman told us that they don't want a sex offender there, but they know they have rights too, which according to City Attorney Robert Sullivan and Police Chief Robert Merner, is the case here.

"He has a constitutional guarantee just like everybody else to use the public facility until, and hopefully it doesn't happen, unless the person commits some type of crime or other type of act that would cause us to become involved from a police perspective," Merner said.

The police chief says they will continue to monitor this, but as of now, the individual has every right to use the pool.